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Old 01-01-2008, 12:00 AM   #1
13dano
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Default Powercaster/Powermover etc.

Hello,
I've been seriously considering purchasing a powered dolly such as Powercaster/Powermover to quickly and precisely park my TM in the garage. I believe that RockyMtnRay has the Powermover and was wondering if anyone else has used either product or can suggest another powered alternative. I am required to keep it in the garage due to regulations, and moving it by hand is out of the question due to the driveway incline. I also believe that if I purchase one and it works as expected I would tend to pull the TM out to work on it much more often than I do now, and it would be handy to be able to load up the TM with clothes, food, etc. in advance of a trip.
It's a real chore to mount the hitch on the TV, line it up and hook it up, pull the TM out carefully and position it back in the garage with little room to spare. As an aside, I can tell you from practical experience that a new rear bumper cover is about $80 bucks and is easily installed!
Thanks and Happy New Year!
Dano
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Old 01-01-2008, 05:39 AM   #2
YWORRYDOG
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We have a Powermover, as the drive is narrow, long, and gravel. It was a little difficult to get the right mounting on the TM since we have the swing tongue. I first insisted that he send me the couple that fits in the TM hitch. It worked, but after a year or so wore the hitch couple and I had to replace it.

I then had him make one that mounted to the frame behind the swing pivot, and before the weight-distributing mount. It works beautifully. I raise the TM, and drop in on the mount for the Powermover, and then swing the tongue around. I also have the TM cord plugged in to the Bargman on the Powermover so that I can activate the brakes on the TM. This works very well for us.

If you need pictures, e-mail me, as it is easier to send them to you then post them.
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Old 01-02-2008, 11:04 PM   #3
13dano
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Thanks for the information. So, when you get the hang of it can you put it almost exactly where you want it in a fairly short amount of time? Any regrets about purchasing it? They are not cheap, but it takes me over an hour to get the TM where I need it to be in the garage, and I have to be exact. I have an inch clearance in the front and an inch in the rear and it has to be perfectly parallel with the side of the garage otherwise the door won't close. Plus I need it to be no more than a foot away from the side if I want to be able to walk through the garage. It's really draining after driving home for many hours and knowing that it is going to take a very long time to put everything away. Plus as I mentioned, I've damaged the rear bumper pan and also put a small crease on the side of the TM. So if it works as I hope, it would be well worth it to me.
Dano
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Old 01-03-2008, 01:51 PM   #4
YWORRYDOG
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Dano
You can put the TM anywhere that it will fit. There is no getting the hang of it. It moves very slowly, no learning curve needed. I have no regrets about purchasing it. It cost me about $900.00 back in 2004.

That is the only way I can get it up the drive, and in the garage. It makes it so easy to move it in and out of the garage in just a few minutes, with no exertion. I need the bigger one with 4 wheels because of the gravel drive, if your is paved, you won’t need one that big.

If you have any kind of incline I would make a brake control for it. Easy to do, just a toggle switch on the PowerMover that will connect to the Hot and brake in the trailer connection.

You may find that it is a little frustration talking to the person that makes and sells the PowerMovers but he is just trying to make sure that you get the right one, and proper mount on your TM.

I made a slight improvement on my Powermover by removing the back wheels that are used when pulling it to where you want it. The wheels that he puts on a very small so that I had to bend over to pull it down the 100’ drive to the TM. I made a swing wheel set with bigger wheels that work much better over gravel.
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Old 01-04-2008, 06:33 AM   #5
Leslie & Nick
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 13dano View Post
......It's really draining after driving home for many hours and knowing that it is going to take a very long time to put everything away. Plus as I mentioned, I've damaged the rear bumper pan and also put a small crease on the side of the TM. So if it works as I hope, it would be well worth it to me.Dano
Dano,

Had to smile (a little anyway ) when I read your post. My situation sounds a lot like yours. I was never anxious to get back home with the trailer because I knew putting it in the garage would be a major hassle. We have a narrow driveway that goes down a hill to a 'drive-under', twin door garage (garage is perpendicular to the driveway). Once you get the trailer oriented to the door, you literally only have inches on each side of the garage. After doing this once with the removable hard plastic wheel, I bought a manual trailer dolly. This made life a lot better, but it still takes a couple of us to line up, and push the trailer into the garage. I've damaged the garage door trim a little when the trailer's bumper caught it.

I had to gather my friends, and anyone else I could find, when it was time to put the trailer in the garage. I looked into buying a powermover of some sort - coincidentally a company who builds them to order, is located about a mile from where I live. But the movers are indeed expensive. I was getting close to buying one, but instead decided to build a large garage on some other property we own in the next state where I now keep the trailer (and other "toys"). Probably not the most cost effective solution, but I knew we'd move to the other property some day.

Anyway good luck with your situation. Let us know if you decide to go the powermover route.

Nick
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Old 01-04-2008, 09:54 PM   #6
13dano
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Thanks for the information! I will order one soon and let everyone know how it works out.
Dano
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Old 03-31-2008, 07:54 AM   #7
13dano
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Default PowerMover - I bought one!

Hello,
Two weeks ago I ordered the PowerMover and it arrived Friday. After a small amount of assembly, I tried it out this weekend. It works perfectly! I can put the TM exactly where it needs to go, which is within an inch of the side and rear of the garage. The PowerMover has a connection so I am able to plug the TM umbilical cord into it and use the brakes on the TM - which comes in handy since I have about an 8 % grade on the driveway.
Additionally, I was able to work at freeing up another 2 inches of depth in the garage, so now I am able to leave the swing hitch on. Prior to yesterday I had to totally take the swing hitch off which was a real chore.
Now it's not a big deal for me to take the TM out of the garage to work on it or to load it up prior to a trip.
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Old 03-31-2008, 03:55 PM   #8
ng2951
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Have you considered putting a hitch on the front of your TV?
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Old 03-31-2008, 04:16 PM   #9
countrygirl
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Last week I received an email from Trailer Life Directory eNewsletter and it had this a link to an item listed called a quikwheel...it looks pretty neat and is only 249.00 but it is not electric...

Here is a link to the video: http://www.quikwheel.com/Video/pw/video.asp

While I think it looks simple to use...my dh prefers the challange of backing up to the hitch and we have gotten a lot better at it!
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Old 04-01-2008, 08:50 AM   #10
13dano
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I did consider going the front hitch route, but due to a combination of factors it wouldn't work any better than backing it in. In the past, I used to back the TM into the garage by myself and if I were to drive it in, the side with one inch clearance would be on the blind, passenger side and impossible to see. There is nothing worse for me than putting the TV in park, setting the brake, getting out to check the clearance, etc., and repeating this process at least a dozen times in the dark after driving 500 miles or so. Also, because of the driveway incline it can be difficult to make slight corrections to overcome the natural effect of gravity.
Another factor was that if I wanted to pull it out of the garage on a whim to work on it, the TV is sometimes being used for other things and not always available to me.
With the PowerMover, I can hook it up, pull out the TM, and put it safely back in the garage in the amount of time it would take me to put on a hitch ball, line up the TV with the TM and hook it up. Plus, due to the length of my driveway I cannot leave the TM and the TV hooked up because the total length together exceeds the length of the driveway and sticks out in the road. So, I used to have to unhook and park the TV on the other side of the driveway...it's no wonder I used to avoid this chore!

Though it would have limited use on surfaces that look like they have to be level and paved, that Quickwheel product is pretty cool!
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